As expected former Vancouver Canucks forward Brendan Morrison was signed on Monday, and stayed on the West Coast, joining the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

Terms have yet to be disclosed but it’s reportedly either a one or two year contract.

It’ll be interesting to see what Morrison’s new contract will be, given the Ducks are currently sitting around $54 million in cap space.

Of course the Ducks coud get some additional cap relief if as rumored they end up peddling Mathieu Schneider’s $5.75 million contract for next season.

Morrison’s performance has been hampered by injury over the past three seasons, two of which he played through nagging pain which clearly affected his play. If he can stay healthy this season however he could be good for 55-60 points this season and provide valuable offensive depth to a Ducks club lacking scoring punch last season.

The Tampa Bay Lightning meanwhile continued to add to their forward depth by signing veteran forward Mark Recchi to a one-year, $1.25 million contract.

For those wondering why the Bolts are loading up at forward at the expense of their defense, it’s believed they’re planning to shop a forward (possibly Jussi Jokinen or Michel Ouellet) for a defenseman.

Recchi had a rough start to last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, netting only 8 points in 19 games and becoming a healthy scratch, but rallied after being dealt to the Atlanta Thrashers with 40 points in 53 games.

If Recchi can manage that same pace for a full season with the Bolts he could be a good, affordable addition.

Reports out of Pittsburgh today claim the Penguins will place Mark Recchi on re-entry waivers only one day after demoting him to their minor league affiliate after he cleared waivers at noon ET on Thursday.

The demotion was done merely as a "procedural move" according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Given how quickly the Pens have placed Recchi on re-entry waivers, it would indicate there is interest in Recchi provided he's recalled, as any team claiming him now would only have to pick up half of his remaining salary.

**UPDATE** The Atlanta Thrashers claimed Recchi Saturday off re-entry waivers from the Penguins.

Recchi will bring considerable veteran experience to the Thrashers lineup, and if he can rediscover his scoring touch that appeared to elude him earlier this season, could provide them with some necessary second line scoring depth to perhaps take some pressure off the club's top line.

It'll be interesting to see which line he's placed on. It's possible he could be placed on the second line, possibly with Ilya Kovalchuk.

I'd love to hear the opinion of Thrashers fans on this.

The Pittsburgh Penguins could find no takers for Mark Recchi on the waiver wire, as he cleared waivers today at noon ET.

GM Ray Shero must now decide if he'll demote Recchi to the Penguins minor league affiliate or attempt to buy out the remainder of his contract.

Because Recchi is over-35, his salary will still count against the Penguins salary cap if he's demoted.

It's believed Recchi could report to the minors; if so, the Penguins could recall him meaning he'd then have to go on re-entry waivers, where a rival team could claim him for half his current salary.

It's believed teams were interested in trading for him but due to salary cap constrictions weren't able to do so at this time, and that might also be the reason why there were no takers for him via waivers.

**UPDATE**. The Penguins reported Thursday Recchi has been demoted to the minors. It remains to be seen how long he'll stay with their farm club. Media consensus is he could be recalled within the next two-three days, putting him on re-entry waivers. The Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets are two teams believed interested in Recchi.

- The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed veteran winger Mark Recchi on waivers today. The 39-year-old winger has been a healthy scratch since November 12th, and has only 8 points this season.

In a recent Foxsports.com article I suggested Recchi might be the biggest name dealt prior to the start of the NHL’s Christmas “trade freeze” on December 19th, but with this move it appears rival clubs aren’t interested in trading for him.

Recchi’s decline this season was quite sudden, considering he’d just come off his fifteenth 20+ goal season of his career last year, and helped the Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup in 2006 with 16 points in 25 playoff games.

But it seems age has caught up to Recchi, and once he was taken off Sidney Crosby’s line earlier this season his offensive production dried up.

Still, when reports came out last week of Recchi being shopped by the Penguins it seemed possible that a rival NHL team seeking offensive depth might be willing to take a chance on him. He’s still highly-regarded around the league and carries an affordable salary. It now appears that’s not enough.

It’s possible that he could be claimed off waivers but it’ll be interesting to see what happens if he doesn’t. The Penguins could send him to their minor league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but there’s a possibility Recchi might refuse to report, as former teammate John LeClair did last season.

Should Recchi go that route, the Penguins could suspend him or give him an unconditional release thus making him an unrestricted free agent.

If he does report, the Penguins could then place him on recall waivers, in hopes another team might be willing to pick him up for only half of his remaining salary.

The Pens could also decide not to demote and keep him in the press box, as the Montreal Canadiens did last season with winger Sergei Samsonov, but that probably won’t be an acceptable option for Recchi or the Pens at this point.

- This past weekend one of the last of the original Minnesota Wild players retired.

Veteran center Wes Walz, long considered the heart and soul of the Wild franchise since its inception, announced his retirement on December 1 following a month-long leave of absence to ponder his future.

Prior to being selected by the Wild in the 2000 expansion draft Walz has bounced around the NHL with Boston, Detroit, Calgary and Philadelphia, plus spent time in the AHL, IHL and Europe.

The Wild however gave Walz’s career a much-needed boost, as he would go on to become a valuable checking forward on the defensive-minded club. His best season with the club came in 2002-03, helping the Wild advance to the Western Conference finals and earning a nomination for the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward.

The hard-working Walz never posted up Hockey Hall of Fame numbers but he was a fan favorite in Minnesota and will always have place in the hearts of Wild fans.

The Pittsburgh Penguins locked up two key veteran players on Friday, re-signing forwards Gary Roberts and Mark Recchi to one-year contracts.

Roberts is believed worth $2.5 million while Recchi’s is said to be incentive-laden upwards to $2 million.

There seemed little doubt that Recchi would remain with the Penguins, since he makes his home in the Pittsburgh area and at this stage of his career likely has little desire to play elsewhere.

Roberts however was a bit of a wild card as it was speculated both the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs (Roberts former team) might try to sign him if he hit the open market.

The incentive for both to remain in the Penguins is the obvious improvement the young team made last season, led by the talented kiddie corps of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury.

This Penguins team is stocked with so much talented youth that it’s been favorably compared to the Edmonton Oilers of the early-1980s, so it’s not surprising Roberts and Recchi wish to stick around another season.

Roberts and Recchi may be long in the tooth, their best years long behind them, but  they've got enough left in the tank for one more good season. Their experience and leadership will be invaluable in the development of the Penguins into a Cup contender.